Merry Christmas to all! It's been a terrific year and I have accomplished many things. My job has allowed me to foray into many different roles:

Santa Claus
Pink Michellan Man for breast cancer awareness
just to name a few.

As for accomplishments, here's the short list:

Work

Bring 3D Breast Tomosynthesis to my community for early cancer detection.
Design the layout of a new outpatient imaging center and creating 15 new imaging jobs.
Expand services to a nearby town via a newly built physician clinic.
Built a brand new Interventional Radiology suite inside my hospital. State of the art stuff.
Acquired a new mobile mammography RV to take to rural Idaho and offer diagnostic breast exams.
Numerous tv appearances.

Family

Six months shy of my 20th wedding anniversary and still going strong.
Two daughters successfully attending college (and nearby too, yay!)
One daughter six months from starting her high school year and doing great.
Three daughters in middle school, loving 4H, sports and lots of friends.

So, you’ve just become the proud owner of a Jeep — congratulations! Jeeps are some of the world’s most capable off-road vehicles, so you’ll probably be excited to throw your new ride in four-wheel and tackle some trails. Before you do, however, there are a few things to think about.

What kind of off-road driving will you be doing with your Jeep? Does it have to be a daily driver as well, or do you want to transform your vehicle into an all-out rock-crawler? If you’re not sure just yet, that’s alright. Here are a few suggestions about ways to improve your Jeep’s off-road capability without sacrificing too much in the road manners department.

A new set of tires for your Jeep can enhance traction and looks, and even give you a slight increase in ride height. Make sure to check with your tire supplier to see if you can fit the new tires on your factory wheels.

For additional protection, you can add rock sliders to the side of your vehicle. These are similar to running boards, but are more substantial and attach to your Jeep’s frame, deflecting impacts that would otherwise hit sheet metal.

Winch and Compressor

Another great addition to any trail-ready Jeep is a winch. A winch mounted to your bumper allows you to attach to something sturdy near the trail and pull yourself out of a difficult situation. It can be essential to getting over technical obstacles.

Similarly convenient, an air compressor mounted to your Jeep will allow you to air down your tires when you hit the trail, and then air them up again for the drive home. When the Dust Settles

Even with all the preparation in the world, taking your Jeep off-road has its risks. You should always be sure to clean your Jeep well after a day on the trail. This will reveal anything you might miss, such as chips or cracks to your windshield, and keep your Jeep’s finish looking good. Also, examine your tires to be sure they did not tear.

As you learn more about your local terrain, you might choose to install a snorkel or sand tires on your Jeep to maximize its potential, but you’ll be pretty impressed with what these trucks will do with just a few modifications. It’s no wonder they’ve been America’s favorite off-highway vehicle since the ‘50s.

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One of the major hurdles to creating a survival cache or long term food supply is the lack of money to buy it. I'm going to outline some ways to earn extra cash above and beyond the traditional paycheck that might be easier than you think. Next, I'll outline how we established a year supply of food for our family of eight.

It is real easy to find yourself living paycheck to paycheck. Cars breaking down and unexpected bills seem to always creep up on us right when we think there will be a little extra cash left over from payday. The best way I've found to make a purchase that seems out of reach is to first: figure out how much money is going to be needed to make the purchase and then second: determine how to earn that specific amount of money.

Determining the amount of food supply can be as easy as looking it up on the internet. I think we determined how much we needed using calculations found on SurvivalBlog and the LDS website. Both are terrific sites for learning about types of food storage, maximizing calories, and creating lists of what is needed. Figure out how much food and drink is necessary then add some comfort items. We added fruit drink mix, hot chocolate powder and spices to the common list of wheat, beans, rice, dehydrated milk etc.

So, WHAT we needed/wanted was the easy part. Then we had to figure out how to raise the money to purchase it. There are SEVERAL ways to add income to the house and I will only list the ways I actually used. I work in a hospital setting and some tips may not be suitable for your type of job but it may give you ideas nevertheless.

First, I cashed in my PTO time. We're given two weeks of vacation time per year and I turned it into an extra paycheck. Not all companies will let you do this but mine did. I had done it at a previous job years ago and at that time, that particular hospital allowed vacation time to be redeemed at around 65% face value (to discourage employees from burning the vacation for cash, I suppose).

Second, since we're ALWAYS short staffed in my department, I started staying late when feasible. 15-60 minutes or more will add up quicker than you think. If you can get over 40 hours, it should be paid at "time and a half" or overtime pay. Again, your results may vary.

Third, I would work through a lunch now and again during our busy season. This nets another 30 minutes of work time on the clock (unless you get an hour for lunch). Its pretty easy to munch on protein bars during work rather than take a full 30 minutes off the clock to eat.

Fourth, I stopped my 401k deductions. This may not be for everyone but I think if we look back now at all the retirements that were crushed by wallstreet we'll see that 401k's aren't for everybody.

Fifth, I increased my tax deductions so that LESS was taken out of my paycheck for taxes. This may be nothing more than a shift of the tax burden to another day but it puts more in your pocket immediately if that is your goal.

Sixth, I would pick up "on call" hours at my hospital on my days off. "On call" means that if someone who is covering the department needs help, they call in the "call tech" for help. It is typically only for two or three hours but can also mean covering an entire shift if someone calls out sick. Being "on call" also means getting paid a minimum of $2-3 per hour just to carry the pager and be on call. So even if you don't get called in to work, you still make a few extra dollars.

Lastly, pick up an extra shift. Sometimes I would work an extra shift at my hospital, sometimes for another hospital. Either way, its extra cash. My hospital would be paying me overtime pay (think higher hourly pay) or the other hospital would be paying me PRN pay (think higher pay since I'm not a full time employee there.)

Over the course of a year, using these methods, we were able to purchase a year's worth of food storage. We also beefed up our survival supplies with a Berkey water filter, twelve 55 gallon water drums, an outdoor shed for extra storage, a shotgun, tons of gardening supplies, three molly bags full of bug out supplies and more.

Helpful tip #1: Figure out WHAT you need and write it down. I used a CraigsList application on my phone to look for things on our list. If I was looking for a shed, I plugged in an automated search for the keyword "shed" and set the price range to what I could handle. Then set the proximity to your house or how far you are willing to drive to go get it. Then I set it up to check posts every ten minutes. This is how you become the FIRST person to call a seller after he posts an item. We bought 90% of our items this way. The other 10% was either on sale at Amazon or Walmart. Some items took a year to find, others were pretty easy. It took almost a year to get a notification that someone was selling a Bosch mixer for $250 with all the attachments. Those are hard to find. Garage sales are a great resource too.

Helpful tip #2: The other side of the equation to put money in your pocket is KEEPING money in your pocket. Write down all of your expenses and go through them one by one to see what you can reduce. Remember, every dollar you DON'T spend is a dollar earned too. We called Verizon Wireless and found a more affordable cell plan. I installed motion sensor light switches in the kids bedroom to keep them from leaving lights on when they aren't in the room. We cancelled our $50 per month satellite tv and bought a Netflix subscription for $7.99 a month. We watch Hulu and Youtube movies for free instead of going to the expensive theaters. I even called our bank just to see what would happen if I asked for help with our second mortgage and auto loan payment. They offered a modification of sorts and have reduced our monthly payments by hundreds of dollars. I was shocked to say the least. It never hurts to ask!
So there you go. Like Larry the Cable Guy says: Get R Done!

Jeep Wranglers, in their various incarnations, have earned their place in history. From its rugged beginning as troop vehicles in World War II to its current sportier form, there’s one thing that has remained nearly the same — the iconic Wrangler grille. How has the grille changed over the years, and how has it remained the same? Check out this image to see the slight differences through the years.

Jeep, Pre-Chrysler, 1944-1986

The Wrangler and its iconic grille started its life in the early 1940s as a lightweight troop carrier for U.S. troops in World War II. The CJ-1 and CJ-2 models sported the first version of the grille: two large, round headlights to lead the troops through treacherous terrain, and a wide air grille to keep the engine cool. The shape of this first grille has remained nearly constant through the years.

From 1945 to 1953, the CJ-2A and CJ-3A were manufactured as the first civilian vehicles of their type. The company had little to no competition, because they had found a niche that no one had explored before. While the edges of the grille became a little sharper, the classic shape remained intact.

The CJ-4 in 1951 returned to the softer, rounder lines of the grille, especially around the headlights, but after 1953, the CJ-3B returned to the squarer edge design.

From 1954 to 1986, Jeep introduced four new models that altered the grille design. The CJ-5, CJ-6, CJ-7, and CJ-8 expanded the grille. While the centerpiece of the grille was still similar to its predecessors, with enormous headlamps, smaller driving lights and seven vertical slats, the rest of the grille was expanded across the front of the cars, creating a more unified appearance.

From 1981 to 1985, the company tried a new design for their grille. The CJ-10 and CJ-10A featured wider-set headlights and additional slats. The overall look was flat and bulky, and was soon abandoned.

In 1987, Jeep was purchased by the Chrysler Company, and changed the fate of the Wrangler grille forever.

Jeep Wrangler, 1987 to Present

Chrysler’s takeover of Jeep led to the introduction of the first YJ model, which was produced from 1987 to 1995. Dropping the bulky CJ-10 grille, the Wrangler’s new designers decided to go back to the basics. The biggest change was the switch to square headlights and driving lights instead of round. They kept the expanded pieces behind the grille and went back to the classic seven-slat grille design.

The classic Wrangler grille we all know and love came into being in 1997. Returning to the round headlights and introducing larger driving lights, the Wrangler TJ and Unlimited have shaped the look of Jeeps since the late ‘90s. The only exception to this is the Wrangler JK, which keeps the round headlights and seven-slat design but rounds off all the edges.

Time will only tell what Jeep will come up with for the 2018 models and beyond.

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